USA Ship Losses 1945

This page records the details of every USA ship lost during WW2, including pictures where possible. Every type of ship is here, warships, submarines, MTBs, tankers, cargo, passenger, troopships and so on, totalling over 1,850. Much of this information was kindly provided by Michael W Pocock at www.maritimequest.com - thank you Michael !

The link from the warship name will show the location of the sinking on a map of the world - note not all are known.

If the results of the search display the records for only one ship, then a photo will be shown if available.

Ran aground off Leyte (09-36N 123-53E); damaged beyond repair. This was the second, and final, occasion of loss for the Shaw, which had been one of the original Pearl Harbor casualties but had seen extensive front-line service since she had been rebuilt

Hit 50 miles 94km north of Okinawa (27-16N 127-48E) while on radar picket station (No 1) by three JNAF suicide aircraft; almost cut in half and severely on fire, she broke up and sank at about 1830 - 87 men lost. The expected mass suicide aircraft attacks ('Kikusui') on the Okinawa assault shipping and covering forces began on 6 April 1945. Just over half of the 700 aircraft launched from Japanese bases were Kamikazes and it was fortunate for the Allies that these pilots were not of the calibre of those met during the Lingayen campaign: fewer than 40 scored hits or damaging near-misses on a total of 18 ships. Two freighters and a landing ship were sunk, as were three US destroyers; three more destroyers survived but were written off. The high incidence of attack on fast well-armed targets was indicative of the indifferent tactical training of the majority of the suicide pilots, who tended to attack the first objectives sighted (the radar picket screen or inner gun and anti-submarine defence screens) instead of the transports and carriers which were essential to the success of the assault.

Pacific

Colhoun

1945-04-06

1700-1800

Hit off Okinawa in company with Bush by three JNAF suicide aircraft; back broken, holed aft by a near-miss, and extensive fires - 35 men lost. Abandoned and scuttled by gunfire of USS Cassin Young at 2330

Hit off Okinawa while assisting Newcomb by one suicide aircraft; exploded on quarterdeck and caused very serious flooding aft - 7 men lost. Towed to Kerama Retto settling by the stern, salvaged but not repaired

Sunk 72 miles north-west of Okinawa (27-25N 126-59E) by JNAF suicide aircraft; hit first by a 'Zero', breaking her keel and propeller shafts, the ship was then hit less than a minute later by a 'Baka' manned rocket-bomb which caused her immediate loss - 79 men lost. The second Japanese major suicide onslaught was launched on 12 April. The Kamikazes, Navy and Army, backed up by 'conventional' bombers, consistently penetrated the layered defences - the outer and inner fighter patrols, the radar picket ships (which attracted numerous attacks) and the inner screen of escorts - and hit 22 ships. Only one destroyer and an LCS were sunk, and of the other casualties just five had to withdraw completely from the operation, but 675 US Navy officers and men were killed or wounded.

Pacific

Pringle

1945-04-16

0910

Sunk by JNAF suicide aircraft 72 miles (133 km) north-west of Okinawa (picket station No 14); hit on forward torpedo-tubes, which blew up and broke ship in two - 65 men lost. The Japanese air forces launched their third major suicide attack on 16 April. Again the Kamikazes were attracted to the radar picket stations to the north and west of Okinawa, where they scored fifteen direct hits or damaging near-misses on eight ships. The destroyer Laffey, on Station 1 with two LCS, was repeatedly attacked over a period of 80 minutes and survived seven suicide hits and four bombs. On Station 14, one destroyer was sunk and two destroyer-minesweepers were severely damaged, one of them beyond economical repair. Elsewhere, a carrier, a destroyer and a destroyer escort also sustained damage which required them to return to the USA for repairs.

Sunk 61 miles 112 km west-north-west of Okinawa (26-43N 127-14E) by one direct hit and one near-miss suicide aircraft -149 men lost, LSM190 was also sunk in this attack. The Kamikazes inflicted considerable loss and damage on 4 May. Besides the six ships sunk, they damaged a light cruiser, three destroyers and a minesweeper of the US task force and two Royal Navy armoured carriers. In total, the attacks on 4 May cost the lives of 482 Allied sailors and wounded another 618.

Sunk 51 miles 94 km north of Okinawa (27-10N 127-58E) by four suicide aircraft (two 'Zeroes' and two E7K 'Alt' floatplanes, one of which taxied up the wake before taking off and flying into an after turret)-159 men lost. LSM(R) 194 was also sunk and the destroyer Ingraham badly damaged in this attack

Severely damaged by two suicide aircraft, a rocket bomb and a bomb while screening the Evans (26-59N 127-32E) - 29 men lost; ship lost power and nearly capsized, being saved only by good damage-control - towed to Kerama Retto but subsequently scrapped

Sunk by two suicide aircraft 35 miles 65 km north-north west of Okinawa (27-06N 127-38E) - 158 men lost; the destroyer was hit by a twin-engined P1Y1 'Frances' bomber and the impact rolled her on her beam-ends, causing her to sink in less than 50 seconds

USA Escort

Torpedoed north-west of the Azores (43-52N 40-15W) by German submarine U.546 (homing torpedo); broke in half and sank very quickly. The Davis was the last US warship to be lost to German submarine attack

Crew abandoned but later reboarded and grounded the ship at Tyuva Bay (69.11.07N - 33.36.05E) declared a total loss In 1959 the bow was salvaged and fitted to the Tbilisi

Torpedo

Damaged

69

U-968

BK-3

30mi N of Murmansk; Russia

Michael J Stone

1945-02-17

Torpedo

Damaged

Atlantic

Thomas Scott

1945-02-17

Torpedo

Sunk

Near Murmansk; Russia

Henry Bacon

1945-02-23

Aerial Torpedo

Sunk

28

Near Murmansk; Russia

Jane G Swisshelm

1945-02-23

Rocket

Damaged

NE Atlantic Ocean

Robert L Vann

1945-03-01

Mine

Sunk

NE Atlantic Ocean

Benjamin R Milam

1945-03-08

Raised and repaired

Explosion

Sunk

East Coast

Russell H Chittenden

1945-03-13

Total Loss

Split

Damaged

Pacific

Oliver Kelley

1945-03-17

Torpedo

Damaged

Philippines

Hadley F Brown

1945-03-20

Mine

Damaged

NE Atlantic Ocean

Horace Bushnell

1945-03-20

Total Loss

Torpedo

Damaged

5

Near Murmansk; Russia

Thomas Donaldson

1945-03-20

Torpedo

Sunk

4

Near Murmansk; Russia

James Eagan Layne

1945-03-21

Total Loss

Torpedo

Damaged

NE Atlantic Ocean

John R Park

1945-03-21

Torpedo

Sunk

NE Atlantic Ocean

Ransom A Moore

1945-03-22

Shelled by Allied ships

Damaged

Philippines

Charles D McIver

1945-03-23

Mine

Sunk

NE Atlantic Ocean

O B Martin

1945-03-29

Depth charges from escorts

Damaged

Atlantic

John C Fremont

1945-03-31

Total Loss

Mine

Damaged

Philippines

Juan de Fuca

1945-04-01

Bombs

Damaged

Philippines

James W Nesmith

1945-04-07

Total Loss

Torpedo

Damaged

NE Atlantic Ocean

Charles Henderson

1945-04-09

Explosion

Sunk

52

Med

Solomon Juneau

1945-04-09

All killed were Armed Guards

Torpedo

Damaged

2

NE Atlantic Ocean

Will Rogers

1945-04-12

Torpedo

Damaged

NE Atlantic Ocean

Harrington Emerson

1945-04-13

Bombed-strafed by U.S. plane

Damaged

Philippines

Cyrus H McCormick

1945-04-18

Torpedo

Sunk

6

NE Atlantic Ocean

Benjamin H Bristow

1945-04-22

Mine

Damaged

NE Atlantic Ocean

John Carver

1945-04-23

Total Loss

Explosion during repairs

Damaged

East coast of USA

Sverre Helmerson

1945-04-23

Torpedo or Mine

Damaged

Normandy France

S. Hall Young

1945-04-30

Kamikaze

Damaged

Okinawa Ryukyu Islands

Edmund F Dickens

1945-05-02

Total Loss

Mine

Damaged

Philippines

Henry L. Abbott

1945-05-02

Total Loss

Mine

Damaged

2

Philippines

Horace Binney

1945-05-08

Mine

Sunk

NE Atlantic Ocean

Cornelius Vanderbilt

1945-05-18

Bombs

Damaged

1

Okinawa Ryukyu Islands

William B Allison

1945-05-24

Total loss

Torpedo

Damaged

6

Okinawa Ryukyu Islands

John Woolman

1945-05-27

Mine

Damaged

NE Atlantic Ocean

Josiah Snelling

1945-05-27

Kamikaze

Damaged

Okinawa Ryukyu Islands

Mary A. Livermore

1945-05-27

Kamikaze

Damaged

11

Okinawa Ryukyu Islands

Samuel L. Jeffery

1945-06-01

Total Loss

Collision

Damaged

4

Caribbean Sea

Colin P Kelly Jr

1945-06-04

Total loss

Mine

Damaged

NE Atlantic Ocean

Walter Colton

1945-06-11

Kamikaze & shelled by Allied s

Damaged

Okinawa Ryukyu Islands

Calvin Coolidge

1945-06-19

Mine

Damaged

NE Atlantic Ocean

Pierre Gibault

1945-06-22

Total Loss

Mine

Damaged

4

Med

Abner Doubleday

1945-06-29

Collision

Damaged

Okinawa Ryukyu Islands

USA Minelayer

Ship

Date

Time

Event

Cause

Result

Deaths

Survivors

Attacked by

Operation

Location

Gamble DM-15 (ex DD

1945-02-18

Towed but out of action; scuttled off Guam July 16; 1945

Bombs

Damaged

6

Japanese Aircraft

Iwo Jima

Iwo Jima

Aaron Ward

1945-05-03

1822

Damaged by two suicide aircraft; 1913-1920: hit amidships by four suicide aircraft which inflicted serious superficial damage - 45 men lost; towed to Kerama Retto and then made her own way back to USA but not repaired. Seventy-three miles (135km) to the west of Okinawa, Picket Station No 10, occupied by two destroyers and two landing ships, came under attack shortly before sunset on 3 May. About 36 suicide aircraft were involved and despite the presence of fighter patrols they scored eleven hits to sink outright one of the destroyers and LSM(R) 195; the other destroyer was damaged beyond repair and only LCS(L) 25 escaped with minor damage; 86 men were lost and 156 were wounded.

USA Minesweeper

Hit in Lingayen Gulf (16-12N 120-11E) by JNAF suicide aircraft and abandoned; taken in tow but hit again at 1730 and sank slowly - one man lost. (On this day suicide aircraft also damaged two battleships, three heavy cruisers, a light cruiser, five destroyers and another destroyer-minesweeper)

Hit off east coast of Okinawa (26-48N 128-04E) by five JNAF suicide aircraft; damaged fore and aft, bridge destroyed, severe fires - 64 men lost. Abandoned at 1930 and scuttled at 2200 by USS Ellyson. Emmons had been assisting DMS Rodman, hit at 1600 by two suicide aircraft; the Rodman was towed to Kerama Retto. In addition to the Rodman, three destroyers and one destroyer escort were so badly damaged by Kamikazes on 6 April that they had to retire to the US for major repairs

Severely damaged by suicide aircraft off NW Okinawa (26-40N 127-52E) and abandoned on fire - 29 men lost; 0835: LSM-135 was hit and beached on Ie Shima while carrying Spectacle's survivors -11 men lost. The minesweeper was later towed to Kerama but was not repaired